I wanted my seventeen-year-old son, William, to enroll in college not the military. But he had other plans.
When I began getting phone calls from military recruiters, I was furious. They needed me to come to the recruiting office and sign a consent form, they said, because he wasn’t eighteen yet.
“I don’t want to discuss it,” I told one recruiter on the phone, “and if you call me again I’ll call my Congressman and report you!”
Months passed, and soon it was Christmas vacation. When William suggested we go for a drive together one day, I happily went.
Two and a half miles later, we were at the front door of the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting office. I was speechless. There was such silence between us you could cut it with a knife.
When we entered the office, the staff sergeant stood up and introduced himself to me. “Is there anything I can get you?” he asked me.
“A stiff drink would be nice.” I was only half-joking.
The staff sergeant explained they needed my signature so William could be in a delayed entry program and put on the schedule so when he finished high school he would go to boot camp. I looked at my son, still so young.
“This is what I want to do; this is my calling,” William said.
“You know if I sign you into the Marines, you are probably going to go to war.”
“I know Mom, but I want to serve my country. This is what I want to do.”
I signed him in. “But you’re going into intelligence, not infantry,” I said.
He signed up for infantry.
William graduated from boot camp as expert rifleman and was at the top of class. I was so proud of him. When you go to their graduation ceremony, it’s indescribable the admiration you have for these young men. This time I cried tears of joy, knowing my son was achieving something very special in order to serve our country.
Lord, help me train and prepare myself for the situations that lie ahead of me.
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” (Ephesians 6:13a)